Quote:
Originally Posted by curves2000
The issue of fitness and conditioning for athletes are related to a few things and one of them is being a pro and showing dedication for your line of work.
Young kids can 100% get away with below average or average conditioning and fitness levels. Its usually when you hit 30 that things can start to go sideways career and performance wise and you see it time and time again.
Somebody mentioned Drew Doughty which is which is an accurate example. He was rumored to not be the fittest guy and has improved a lot, but if he hadn't, I don't think his performance year after year in playoff runs, Olympic games and All-Star games would hold up. Its simply too hard.
The way the game is today its very hard for players 35+ to stay in the league unless they contribute and can play the game at a high level. Players like Jagr, Iginla, Chelios and others who are known for fitness were able to stick around a long time as a result
In the recent article in the Hockey News where former Flame Devon Setoguchi talked about his alcohol and drug addictions he made reference to this. He mentioned that if he had pushed himself over the course of his career he thinks he would have been a repeat 30 goal scorer. He also mentioned that during his time with the Flames he was initially pissed off with Bob Hartley but the truth was he wasn't in good enough shape to compete. This is one of the downsides of addiction, is the loss of ability to perform your best and do what you love because everything takes a back seat to drugs and booze.
The reports that we heard from development camp was that Rasmus Anderson was looking a little slow and winded from some of the action on the ice, it could partially be as a result of poor fitness and being overweight. Being a bit overweight and out of shape in July, 2016 isn't the biggest deal. Being on the Flames roster in 3 years, during game 79 with the playoffs on the line, getting caught and not having the speed to catch up to Connor McDavid is an issue.
I am confident the kid will be able to figure it out as its a struggle for a lot of people. Hopefully if he is down in the AHL, making a few bucks and being an official pro hockey player he will get it together. All the best because he is a solid prospect for the very near future.
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I can see this. Hockey is a billion dollar industry and franchise values are several hundred million. We saw a few seasons ago Chicago make the playoffs by default because Dallas lost the last game of the season. I could see the case for ensuring these athletes understand that if you're out of shape on the 82nd game and cost the team the losing goal, it could mean millions in lost revenue.
But the same could be said about a bad pass, poor back checking, distracted on the ice, or failing to stay within the system. There's a way to build a winning roster and atmosphere and I'm not sure hard-line policies are the right approach.